Please note: The Defense Commissary Agency does not and can not endorse any product mentioned in this newsletter;any product mentioned is for informational purposes only.

'Tis the season to visit your commissary for savingsHoliday savings on top of everyday low prices are plentiful in December for commissary customers, said the Defense Commissary Agency's sales director.
"Any time of the year our customers know to make their commissary their first shopping stop if they want to enjoy the savings they've earned," said Chris Burns, sales director. "And, during the holidays, they will see shelves stocked with discounted groceries and other household products to make this time of year even merrier."
Throughout December, DeCA's industry partners will host many in-store promotions and provide extra savings focused on the holiday season. Overseas stores may have substitute events for certain promotional programs. Customers are asked to check their local commissary for the following super sales events:

· Coupon for free Coca-Cola product. Commissary and military exchange customers can download an Internet coupon for a free 20-ounce Coca Cola product redeemable only on Dec. 16 and 17 at a commissary or military exchange. This promotion celebrates the 125th- and 70th-year anniversaries of the Coca-Cola Company and USO, respectively, as well as these organizations' historic relationship with the U.S. military. To access the coupon, go to http://www.uso.org/coca-cola/.
· Holiday recipe contest. Through midnight Dec. 31, DeCA and the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, also known as the Exchange, are offering shoppers opportunities to win shopping sprees just by entering their favorite holiday recipes. To enter, go to http://www.shopmyexchange.com/Community/patriotfamily/contests.htm for contest details and a link to an email address to send recipes. There are three categories: main dish, side dish or dessert. Participants must submit a description of the recipe, 50 words or less, or the origin of the recipe. Recipes must include specific ingredient measurements and preparation directions. Limit two entries per immediate family. There will be four winners for each category - 12 chances to win. First-place winners in each category receive a $500 Exchange gift card and a $500 commissary gift card donated by DeCA's industry partners.
· Holiday Helping recipe book. ConAgra will offer a Holiday Helping recipe book with $10 in coupon savings on brands such as Orville-Redenbacher Popping Corn, Poppycock, Swiss Miss Cocoa, Wesson Oil and Reddi-Whip, just to name a few. Customers can find additional commissary coupons at http://www.conagracommissarydeals.com.
· "Dear Santa." J.M. Smucker Company will offer its 2nd annual "Dear Santa" promotion featuring savings on in-store product displays and a contest to win commissary gift cards. Some of the products on sale include Folgers Classic Roast Coffee, Pillsbury Coffee Cakes, Pillsbury Cake Mix & Frosting, and Hungry Jack Pancakes & Syrup. These companies will also donate $5,000 in coffee to the troops deployed overseas.
· "Believe in Heroes." Acosta continues this event in support of the Wounded Warriors Project, offering flyers with high-value coupons. The Wounded Warrior Project raises awareness and enlists public aid to help severely injured service members. For more information, go to http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org and http://www.believeinheroes.org.
· "Huddle to Fight Hunger." Commissary shoppers will see in-store displays, flyers, recipe books and tear pads, special pricing and coupons on Kraft products related to the company's "Huddle to Fight Hunger" campaign to help provide 25 million meals to families across America. For more details, go to http://www.Facebook.com/KraftFightHunger.
"Our commissary staff and industry partners wish all our customers a very happy, safe holiday season!" Burns said. "We hope you enjoy your time with your families, and remember commissaries can also help you save on New Year's Eve party goodies."

2012 Scholarships for Military Children opens Dec. 12011 Scholarships for Military Children recipient Jordan Cherry said receiving extra money for college lightened her financial load.

"This scholarship definitely decreases the financial burden of school, which we all know is a big benefit," she said.
Applications for the 2012 Scholarships for Military Children Program will be available starting Dec. 1 at commissaries worldwide as well as online through a link on http://www.commissaries.com and directly at http://www.militaryscholar.org.

Awards will be based on funds available, but the program awards at least one $1,500 scholarship to a student at each commissary. Scholarships are funded by donations from commissary vendors, manufacturers, brokers, suppliers and the general public. Every dollar donated goes directly to funding scholarships. No taxpayer dollars are expended on the scholarship program.
If there are no eligible applicants from a particular commissary, the funds designated for that commissary are used to award an additional scholarship at another store.
The scholarship program was created to recognize military families' contributions to the readiness of U.S. armed forces and the commissary's role in the military community. Since the program began in 2000, it has awarded more than $9.3 million in scholarships to 6,069 military children from 62,000-plus applicants.
[For more information visit Scholarships for the rest of the article.]

Commissary Commando winners announced
The Fort Knox, Ky., Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program won the grand prize of $1,500 in the 2011 Commissary Commando Competition, the Defense Commissary Agency announced.

The group's winning video submission was posted to DeCA's YouTube page at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2TMIVyMcJc along with a complete list of prize winners Nov. 30.
Other winners in this year's competition were:
* First Prize - Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., $1,000
* Second Prize - Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, $750
* Third Prize - U.S. Army Garrison Camp Zama, Japan, $500
* Fourth Prize - Fort Sill, Okla., $250
* Honorable Mention - Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., $150
In September, commissaries worldwide opened their doors to single service members for Commando events, offering groups opportunities to learn more about their commissary benefit while competing for cash prizes from DeCA's industry partners.
Groups brought single service members in for commissary tours, completed trivia, reached out to their peers through social media and even created their own videos to explain the benefits customers are missing if they don't shop their commissary. Final video submissions were due by Oct. 17.
The American Logistics Association's Consumer Awareness Team, a group of DeCA's industry partners, sponsors the contest and awards the prize money to the winning groups. They also give a $100 incentive check for the first group at each installation to submit a completed tour roster.

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where we are talking with those who visit the site about the latest cost-saving programs, promotions and events at DeCA's more than 250 commissaries worldwide; sharing information unique to those stores; and discussing issues that affect customers and industry partners.

KAY'S KITCHEN

Want to save money? Try gifts from your commissaryBy Kay Blakley, DeCA home economist
Stretch your holiday budget this year by transforming affordable ingredients from your local commissary into memorable gifts for special friends and family on your holiday list. They'll be thinking sweet thoughts of you with each luscious bite.
For someone who loves fruit preserves, think about a gift of pear honey. All it takes is a few ripe pears, a can of crushed pineapple, a bit of sugar and about 30 minutes of your time to produce one of the best fruit spreads you've ever tasted.
Have you ever made peanut brittle? It's easy to make and fun to watch some serious foaming action when baking soda is added to the hot candy syrup. Pack it into small coffee cans, recycled as gift containers.
Press your slow cooker into service to produce a batch of sugared pecans or walnuts, or bake an extra loaf of your favorite pumpkin or banana bread and wrap it in a nice new kitchen towel as a thoughtful gift.
A very practical but totally delicious idea is a jar of homemade turkey noodle soup mix. It's the season for having plenty of leftover turkey on hand, so this gift is likely to be put to good use right away.
Be extra careful not to forget the "cookie monsters" on your Christmas list. Who knows, they might even become part of the cookies and milk left for Santa's all-important visit. Choose from any of the cookie recipes here then prepare a batch for giving.

Or, if you think the gift recipient would prefer to do the baking themselves, simply combine the pre-measured spices, seasonings and other dry ingredients in a Mason jar. Tie with a strip of ribbon and attach a recipe card with further mixing and baking instructions.
Recipes for all these suggestions and more are featured for you on Kay's Kitchen. Enjoy and happy holidays from those of us at your commissary!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

This video on the surcharge is the first in a series of "Your Commissary Questions" videos answering our customers' questions about the commissary.

The series is also being used as an internal training tool to provide additional policy guidance to employees. Future video topics will include commissary pricing, coupons and special orders. For answers to more of your commissary questions, please visit www.commissaries.com/faq.

If you have questions regarding commissary issues that haven't been resolved by your store's management, we encourage you to contact DeCA's Your Action Line program at any time using our online customer comments form at

You can subscribe to the Guard/Reserve Sale Schedule Newsletter to request email updates on DeCA's Guard/Reserve On-Site Sales program. You will receive the on-site sales schedule on a monthly basis, along with sale information, points of contact, program updates and more, straight to your inbox ... this newsletter will be a one-stop shop for on-site sale details!
The Guard/Reserve Sales Schedule Newsletter offers us the ability to send updates to you if sale information changes. You just indicate the state in which you normally attend on-site sales when you subscribe to the newsletter. If the details change for a sale in your state after we've announced it, we'll alert you - no worries! This feature affords you, our customers, the peace of mind that comes with knowing you'll never have to miss a chance to save.
Click this link to sign up today and help us bring the commissary benefit to you!

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